Beliefs and common sense guide us in making myriad decisions every day. However, because we believe something to be true or judge it to be true based on "common sense", doesn't make it true. A belief can be validated only by testing it with evidence. This blog is neither right nor left, but undoubtedly will annoy individuals across the spectrum who hold unsupported convictions. My hope is that this blog will encourage us to challenge each others' beliefs and, most importantly, our own.

Monday, March 5, 2012

The Misogynists, The Ignorant, The Cowards and The Gentleman

Republican politics sunk to a new low this past week.

On February 23, 2012 Sandra Fluke, a law school student at
Georgetown University, provided testimony to Democratic members of the House of
Representatives after Darrell Issa (R. California) denied her the opportunity
to testify before the committee he chairs (House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform). Ms. Fluke testified on behalf of mandatory
inclusion of contraception services in health insurance policies. She cited the case of a friend of hers at
Georgetown who suffered from polycystic ovary syndrome and required birth
control pills as treatment for her condition.
The friend could not obtain the treatment at Georgetown, a Catholic
affiliated institution, and as a result ended up losing an ovary.

Rush Limbaugh on his nationally syndicated radio
talk show personally attacked Ms. Fluke for three days in a row. Mr. Limbaugh referred to Ms. Fluke as a “slut”
and a “prostitute” who is “having so much sex, she can’t afford the
contraception ….. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have
sex.” He went on to say that Ms. Fluke
should post sex videos of herself online “so we can all watch.”

Mr. Limbaugh in addition to being a thoroughly
disgusting individual, appears to be a profoundly ignorant man. He seems to think that hormonal contraception
involves a woman taking a pill every time she has sex (I presume he is
generalizing from his knowledge of Viagra).
Apparently, Mr. Limbaugh doesn’t understand that hormonal contraception involves
the woman taking a daily pill regardless of the number of times she has sex. He also apparently doesn’t understand that Georgetown’s
student health insurance is paid for by students and not taxpayers.

Regardless of whether one agrees with the position
taken by Sandra Fluke, the attack launched by Rush Limbaugh on national radio on
this young woman would have to be considered reprehensible and beneath contempt
by any civilized person.

You would think that this would be an opportunity
for the Republican and conservative leaders to establish their credentials as
nominally decent people by denouncing the offensive remarks. Let us see what they actually said.

TV talk show host Bill O’Reilly, while not addressing
Rush Limbaugh’s comments, said: "Let
me get this straight, Ms. Fluke, and I'm asking this with all due respect. You
want me to give you my hard-earned money so you can have sex?" He then
went on to say that if he had to pay for Ms. Fluke’s contraception then the
taxpayer should have paid for his football equipment when he was in
college.

Have Mr. O’Reilly, or other conservative or
Republican spokespeople similarly objected to insurance coverage for Viagra which
involves “paying for men to have sex”? Have
they also objected to student insurance coverage (paid for primarily by non-athletes)
for treatment of athletic injuries for individuals such as Mr. O’Reilly who choose
to expose themselves to the risks of tackle football?

Speaker John Boehner’s spokesman said: “The
speaker obviously believes the use of those words was inappropriate, as is
trying to raise money off the situation," thus putting the Democrats in
the same category as Mr. Limbaugh.

Rick Santorum said: “He [Rush Limbaugh] is being
absurd, but that's you know, an entertainer can be absurd.” If Mr. Limbaugh had directed similar language
against Mr. Santorum’s wife or daughters would Mr. Santorum have laughed the
comments off as being “absurd”?

Newt Gingrich refused to criticize Mr. Limbaugh.

Mitt Romney said referring to Mr. Limbaugh’s
comments: “It's not the language I would have used.” Mr. Romney, what synonyms would you have
preferred for the words “slut” or “prostitute”?

Mr. Romney while being interviewed by Mike Huckabee
stated his unqualified support for a “Personhood Amendment” to the US
Constitution which would define a fertilized ovum to be a person. Mitt Romney claims that he supports the right
of women to use contraceptives (so progressive) while also supporting the failed
Blunt amendment which would enable payers, employers, medical personnel and
dispensers the right to deny women access to contraception (or any other
medical service that they might object to on the basis of “religion” or “conscience”). Apparently, Mr. Romney is also quite ignorant
in matters biological, not understanding that hormonal birth control while acting
to suppress ovulation also inhibits implantation of ova that do manage to get
fertilized. IUDs also inhibit
implantation of fertilized ova. Thus if
a Personhood Amendment were to be adopted, both hormonal birth control and IUDs
would be banned.

The Republican leaders must either agree with Mr.
Limbaugh’s sentiments or are such cowards that they are afraid to condemn even
the most outrageous and offensive statements for fear of antagonizing the right wing
extremists of their party. This episode
brings to mind one of the early Republican debates during which a soldier on
active duty in Iraq called in a question to the candidates while identifying
himself as being gay. The crowd booed this
active duty soldier and not a single one of the candidates admonished the crowd
for booing this soldier in the battlefield who was putting his life on the line
every day for his country.

In contrast, to his credit, presidential
candidate John McCain in 2008 did admonish a woman at a town meeting who was vilifying
Barack Obama saying “No, ma’am. He’s a decent, family man, a citizen that I
just happen to have disagreements with.”

Mitt Romney, or any of the other conservative and
Republican leaders, could have elevated his stature to the level of common
decency by simply saying, “While I may not agree with Ms. Fluke’s positions, as
Americans we have an obligation to deal respectfully with individuals we may disagree
with. Mr. Limbaugh’s comments were
disgusting and reprehensible and have no place in our public discourse.” The cowards could not bring themselves to say
even this.

What masqueraded as opposition to abortion
and support for religious freedom has been unmasked as the ugliest sort of
misogyny and the Republican elite refuses to condemn it. The Republican war on women continues as does the Republican war on gays.

Ironically, the free market is bolder than the cowardly
Republicans; a steady stream of sponsors have announced that they have withdrawn their sponsorship from
the Rush Limbaugh show.

Mr. Obama called Ms. Fluke and expressed his
support for her in the face of the abuse that she has been subjected to. He is the gentleman.

4 comments:

As a Canadian and whether I like it or not, my future is indeed influenced by the dynamics of our neighbor and best buddy, The U.S.A. Given that, to watch the zealots and ideologues of the G.O.P. thrash themselves into a nonsensical, religious frenzy - a state where, apparently, any gross, anti-social behavior is acceptable - is certainly a matter for grave concern. And, might I add - ridicule.

It appears to me that all you like to do is beat up on Republicans or anyone that doesn't go along the way you think. I unstand that Ms. Fluke has a medical condision that requires her to take the pill. And yes what Rush said was not the right thing do. But as so many BASHER like yourself doesn't tell the hole story.You failed to say that Rush applaugize for several day to Ms. Flukes, on the AIR. He still has the right to believe what he said is true but isn't that a right under the 1st Ammement. I'm sorry that I didn't get to here his comments, all I got from it was the bassest media and people like you. Oh by the way, I do know something about the Constitution, I over seas right now fighting for it so that people like you and Rush can say what you want without a problem.So please remember, everyone has the right to say what on there mind. Even if someone else deosn't like what you say.

Mr Cohen, as elsewhere, makes a number of good points. Some of them (about contraception) I haven't even seen on liberal blogs/sites! Like: the to me obvious physiological fact - seemingly unknown however to most conservatives unless they happen to be MDs - *that taking hormonal contraceptives is not at all dictated by the frequency of sexual intercourse*: basically, once you're on them you're on them: are committed to take a pill per day: you can't keep coming off and going on them: they take a least a month's use to work. NOT like Viagra! Are modern Rethug opinion-formers *genuinely* that ignorant: or is it a pose?

Still: Congratulations, not even Alternet took Limbaugh up on that! I only just discovered your blog today: via an ad on abc.com! It obviously should be better known.